Pros/Cons of a direct democracy? With modern technology, how could US transition to this form of government?

Question

Thanks speakeasy and uncle osbert for your intelligent and insightful responses. I suppose we should focus on term limits to prevent our elected representatives from abusing their power.

Answer 1

Let's not go there. It puts too much power in the hands of skilled propagandists looking out for their own interests.

A direct democracy fails as soon as people figure out they can vote themselves largesse out of the 'public' fund.

Our Republican form of government was created, with God-given Rights, to protect us against the perils of a direct democracy.

Answer 2

i like representative democracies because it should be a fulltime job. some issues require lots of study before you can write productive legislation... it doesn't happen in a vacuum.

in california i vote on lots of referendums and other bits of legislation that didn't get passed, instead they are thrown at the voters. one example is a few years ago in oakland, where two measures both passed; one expanding the police force so more officers were on the ground, the other cutting the funding to the police. well sir, those appear to be mutually exclusive, although safety and tax-cutting are always easy sells. that isn't a very good way to run a country.